What are your thoughts on school administrator’s leadership in today’s PK-12 schools?
What do you see as your PK-12 school administrator’s technology leadership strengths?
What do you see as your PK-12 school administrator’s technology leadership weaknesses?
Although this blog in the past has been primarily for school finance issues, the blog takes a new direction tilted toward my newly released text, The Technology-ready School Administrator, written for school leaders and teachers in developing and advanced countries who desire to improve their school’s performance in technology-related tasks. Aligned with the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Education Leaders, the book’s practical content addresses:
• technology planning and evaluation,
• teacher and student digital literacy,
• equity and accessibility issues,
• responsible online student behavior,
• online professional learning networks,
• infrastructure,
• resource procurement,
• teacher and student data privacy,
• continuous improvement planning with specific steps to lead a change initiative, and
• emerging technology trends, including insights on the future of artificial intelligence.
The book distinctly details steps to:
• develop or revise a strategic technology plan, including vision and mission statements,
• review professional development policies and implement a process,
• create a school improvement plan, and
• initiate a change initiative.
The text exhibits tables with a variety of educational data from various countries. The book’s focus is to assist technology-ready school administrators around the world to lead technology-rich schools for all teachers and students.
Although I retired from Franciscan University of Steubenville in August, 2022, I have been asked to teach a school finance class for Madonna University in Michigan. I look forward to this opportunity. Regards!!!
Funding Formula Changes
Sub. HB 110 incorporates HB 1 into the bill with several changes, including:
Establishing a general phase-in amount for the plan’s increases at 16.67% for fiscal year (FY) 2022 and 33.33% for FY 2023;
Phasing in the increases for disadvantaged pupil impact aid (DPIA) at 0% for FY 2022 and 14% for FY 2023;
Eliminating HB 1’s priority to fully fund the increases in DPIA and educational service center (ESC) funding before funding other increases for the formula’s components;
Establishing a temporary guarantee for FY 2022 and FY 2023 for school districts to ensure that no school district receives less than its combined funding for FY2021 from (1) foundation aid before state funding reductions, net of transfers, (2) Student Wellness and Success Funds and enhancement funds, and (3) enrollment growth supplement funds;
Maintains the proposed $1.1 billion in SWSF spending, but redirects its purpose to DPIA and the base cost components;
Requiring districts to develop plans for utilizing DPIA in coordination with both (1) an ADAMH board and (2) one other community partner, including an ESC, county board of developmental disabilities, community-based mental health treatment provider, or other specified entity;
Providing community and STEM schools 100% of the base cost amount, instead of 90% under HB 1
Interesting… The US discretionary budget process begins with a presidential recommendation for public school funding in federal programs! Too early to tell how it will shake out although historically Congress will not approve the 41% increase! Stay tuned!
https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/biden-pitches-41-percent-spending-increase-for-education-next-year-on-top-of-covid-19-aid/2021/04
K-12 schools will receive about $57 billion in direct aid in an additional $900 billion federal COVID-19 relief bill reached over the December 20 weekend by congressional negotiators. Funding is available through September 2022.
Public schools will receive $54.3 billion in an education stabilization fund, and 90 percent of that must ultimately go to local school districts, including charter schools that function as districts. According to the legislation, schools could use the relief:
The legislation does not include more funding for the E-Rate program that supports internet service for schools and libraries. The bill does provide $3.2 billion for an emergency broadband connectivity fund.
Governors will receive $4.1 billion in a fund for both K-12 and higher education. Of that fund, $2.75 billion was reserved for private schools. Priority for this funding will be given to private schools that have been impacted the most by the virus and that serve low-income students. Private school who seek this aid must agree not to obtain additional funding from the Paycheck Protection Program.
Come on state politicians stave off budget cuts to school districts in the immediate future. Please apply pressure to your state legislators to take appropriate action! What are your thoughts regarding states’ holding off K-12 education budget cuts by employing ideas from the following article?
As school districts devise plans for the safe return of students, Congress is considering an additional relief package for K-12 and higher education schools above the $30 billion initially granted for covid-19 aid. The Senate, however, will not reconvene until July 20. Andrew Ujifusa in Education Week (http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/07/national-virus-bailout-schools-ten-things.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2&M=59611713&U=&UUID=dcbead17d428dafa46a35c6c59477fc1) reported 10 keys. The three most pressing questions are:
To let our voices be heard, bombard your U.S. Congress delegates with personal letters, emails, or phone messages. To find out who represents you and their mailing as well as email addresses, go to https://www.usa.gov/elected-officials. Keep the pressure on for equitable and adequate school funding across the board.
As K-12 schools across the nation prepare for the ominous task of deciding whether to open schools next year or not, Education Week’s authors in many articles have done a marvelous job of keeping readers abreast of the costs and other issues surrounding the coronavirus pandemic at private and public schools school districts. In the June 2 article, “How Districts, States Can Survive the COVID-19 Recession,” at https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/06/03/how-districts-states-can-survive-the-covid-19.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2&M=59587894&U=330454&UUID=1fc91306800af7876368b372d4a40268, I concur with Marguerite Roza who said districts should use the time before state legislatures cut their budgets combing through academic and spending data to see which programs are most effective, which should be kept, and which should be scrapped; coming up with budget-cutting scenarios; and negotiating potential layoff scenarios with teacher union leaders. Last-minute scrambling will lead to deeper, sometimes unnecessary cuts, contentious school board meetings, and sour feelings. I emphasize that a well-thought budget reduction plan will be key in times ahead. I also support Linda Darling-Hammond who said this recession may provide an opportunity to overhaul funding formulas and make districts less reliant on volatile sources of revenue. What are your thoughts and plans?
President Trump proposes an 8% decrease in U.S. Department of Education funding by consolidating 29 major programs—including Title I aid for disadvantaged students and funding for charter school expansion—into a single, $19.4 billion block grant. Although the president’s 2020 budget recommendation to U.S. Congress proposed eliminating funding for Title II, Title IV, and Title VI, Part A, Subpart 1 along with twenty-six other programs, all programs were reconstituted in the House Committee Appropriations. More specifically, Congress approved small increases for all entitlements in each of the past three federal appropriations bills. There’s no particular reason to think Capitol Hill would treat this newest proposal much differently. Thoughts?? To see the Education Week article, go to http://blogs.edweek.org/edweek/campaign-k-12/2020/02/trump-slash-education-funding-merge-block-grant-charter-schools-title-I.html?cmp=eml-enl-eu-news2&M=59039249&U=330454&UUID=1fc91306800af7876368b372d4a40268